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My Peace of the Puzzle - Encouragement Café - October 27, 2014

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Romans 12:18 NIV

Entrée:

Do you really have to stay angry?

This was the nagging thought at the back of my mind as I seethed over the disagreement I’d just had with my husband.

What if you laid those ugly ideas and negative feelings aside and apologized first?

These thoughts had to be coming from the Holy Spirit, because my thoughts weren’t nearly that nice!

I hate to admit this, but I have a history of holding on to my anger toward my husband for way too long after we’ve ended an argument. It’s like I’m savoring it, even though I know how destructive it is. It consumes my thoughts, disrupts my sleep, and puts emotional distance between us.

But this time, I wanted something different. In spite of the fact that I could list many more ways that my husband was at fault in this argument than I was, I chose to apologize first. I made a deliberate decision to be a peacemaker.

And the results were amazing!

· I felt great! It was like I’d just gone on a mental diet. My mind was no longer cluttered with thoughts of retaliation.

· I slept great! None of the usual tossing and turning and heavy-heartedness accompanied me to bed. I went to bed smiling—and so did my husband!

· I got asked out on a date! My husband “suddenly” thought of an upcoming event that he would love to take me to, and asked if I would come!

The truth is, I really do play a role in how much peace there is in my life and my home. This doesn’t mean shouldering the full responsibility for making sure everybody is happy and has what they want. It doesn’t mean avoiding conflict at all costs.

What it means is, just like Romans 12:18 says, I can choose to domy part in contributing to the peace. This time, the Holy Spirit made it crystal clear what that was: apologizing before I felt like it. And there’s only one word that adequately describes the result: “Ahhhhhhh”!

Take out:

Do want to experience that supernatural “ahhhhh”?

Then next time you have a disagreement with a loved one, listen to the Holy Spirit when He interrupts your angry thoughts, and do whatever peacemaking act He prompts you to do!

Dessert:

Father, You’ve called us to do our part in contributing to the peace in our lives, but that is SO hard! Please give us the desire for Your peace, the ears to hear Your promptings, and the courage to DO as you direct us. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

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